41.153.150.131
>>>> Message type: Request for quote
>>>> -----------
>>>>
>>>> Greetings!
>>>>
>>>> I'm Hanks Blake from Dublin,Ireland and i'm presently in the USA on a
>>>> business trip.I will need your service to translate some documents for
>>>> me.I
>>>> need to make a presentation to some groups of French speaking people in
>>>> Paris,France on 9th of January,2012.However,i will need you
>>>>
>>>> to help me translate the papers from English to French,so each of my
>>>> audience can have a copy in French language and they can follow
>>>> through.I
>>>> will also need that the work
>>>> be delivered by Jan 7,2012.Please,let me know your rate for a total of
>>>> about
>>>> 4626 words presentation and your methods of payment.I look forward to
>>>> hearing back from you soon.
Best Regards,
>>>> Hanks
>>>> +1-678-701-9193
>>>>

The IP address is in Egypt, don't know why I didn't check it, and this forum until today! I feel like a fool now. I asked him for a PO showing his details. He sent me the files and ageed payment. I gave him my details and asked for wire transfer upfront before starting on job. Then I discovered a translation agency in Dublin was also sent same message (Hanks in London then) and the same files sent and same scenario. The phone number below is probably a scam number as well as I checked the area code and it's Georgia USA. What to do with these people? Can he do anything with my bank details?

Now I know we should all check these forums on regular basis

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-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Hanks Blake
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.] Author's IP address: 69.31.50.164 Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Greetings!

I'm Hanks Blake from Dublin,Ireland and i'm presently in Atlanta,United States on a business trip.I will need your service to translate some documents for me.I need to make a presentation to some groups of French speaking people in Brussels,Belgium on 12th of January,2012.However,i will need you to help me translate the papers from English to French,so each of my audience can have a copy in French language and they can follow through.I will also need that the work be delivered by Jan 9,2012.Please,let me know your rate for a total of about 4626 words presentation and your methods of payment.I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best Regards,
Hanks
+1-678-701-9193

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I've been wondering what's the intention behind this files sending, just to increase the credibility of a job offer ?
It bothered me. I didn't see the real purpose behind it until now:
Hanks Blake is sending you a malware through his files or even the mails.
Now my brand new laptop doesn't work. The worm doesn't act immediately. It seams that it has distroyed the memory.
Some changes have been made in the registry.
So watch out !

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LuxTranslationsLuxembourg Local time: 04:08Member (2011) German to French + ...

Same for me!!!

Feb 2, 2012

Hi,
I fell into the mousetrap! I did the translation, then he said: no need to hurry on the translation, the presentation is not being held in December but in January... Never got any answer on my invoice. Only then did it occur to me that it might be a scam...

Anyway, I just read here that there is a malware with the e-mail. Can you tell me more about it? Since then, Skype does not work anymore on my laptop. Could it be in relation? I did a complete reset of the laptop, but it still does not work.

Caroline

[Modifié le 2012-02-02 14:15 GMT]

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I'm Fred Michel from Atlanta,Georgia and i'll be leaving here in Atlanta for the United Kingdom on a business trip tomorrow.However,i will need your service to translate some documents for me.I need to make a presentation to some groups of Polish speaking people in warsaw,Poland on 16th of July,2012.I will need you to help me translate the texts from English to Polish,so each of my audience can have a copy in Polish language and they can follow through.I will also need that the work be delivered by July 13,2012.Please,let me know your rate for the translations(See attachments) and your methods of payment.I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best Regards,
Fred
678-701-9193
+447924007140

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I'm Alan Cox from Atlanta,Georgia and i'll be leaving here in Atlanta for the United Kingdom on a business trip tomorrow.However,i will need your service to translate some documents for me.I need to make a presentation to some groups of german speaking people in Munich,Germany on 5th of March,2012.I will need you to help me translate the papers from English to German,so each of my audience can have a copy in german language and they can follow through.I will also need that the work be delivered by March 2,2012.Please,let me know your rate for a total of about 4626 words presentation and your methods of payment.I look forward to hearing back from you soon."

These scammers have their own data bank with "standard" texts. They may change the name (Allan Cox, Dan/Daniel Reyes, Scott etc.) but the rest is absolutely the same.

Read on a weekly basis the "Scam" section and stay safe.

Lee

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I have just received this email (not from ProZ; the sender's email mentions a particular domain; I could not find the IP address):

Greetings!
I'm Steven A. [Last name given in full in the email] from Atlanta,Georgia and i'll be leaving for europe on a business trip tomorrow morning.I'll be making a presentation to some groups of Spanish speaking people in Madrid,Spain on the 29th of October,2012.However,i will need you to help me translate some documents from English to Spanish,so each of my audience can have a copy in their local language and they can follow through.The deadline for the delivery of translations is October 25,2012.Please,let me have an estimate for the documents(see attached).I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Kind Regards,
Steven
678-701-9193

Luis

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I am sure it is a scam. I reported it because the email has some peculiarities. I did not put all the details in my post because the crook might be impersonating some innocent third party, but I wrote a support request, to let ProZ investigate and report its finding, if they consider it appropriate. The email did not come through ProZ. The sender’s alleged email address was not a gmail or hotmail address, but of the type:

mrs(a last name but not sender’s) at (a private domain name).org

Crooks are increasingly becoming more daring. I have just received this warning from the Texas Bar Association to all its members:

The State Bar of Texas has learned that an apparent scam artist has assumed the identity of a Texas attorney who has not practiced in several years, and set up a fake law firm website using the attorney's maiden name, former office address, and portions of her professional biography.

The attorney was alerted to the scam after a legal finance firm contacted her at home with concerns about the impersonator. Because the case is under investigation by the FBI and local law enforcement, we are withholding details on the matter. At this time we do not know how the scam artist is using or intends to use the fake website.

In recent years scams have targeted Texas attorneys with fraudulent checks and wire transfers in fake debt collection matters, and scammers have impersonated law firms and called members of the public attempting to collect debts. This is the first time the State Bar of Texas has seen a fake website established in an attorney's name, and attorneys and the public should be vigilant about this new tactic.

Thank you, again.
Best,
Luis

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The message is peculiar. The e-mail address (mrsadams@vasking.org) seemed strange. I was unable to access any such website. This message was from S. A. Was this, by any chance, the same e-mail address used by H. B. and A. C.?

This forum is excellent. Thank you!

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I received the same e-mail from the supposed businessman going on a trip to Madrid.
Here's the body of the e-mail:

Greetings!

I'm Steven Anteen from Atlanta,Georgia and i'll be leaving for europe on a business trip tomorrow.I'll be making a presentation to some groups of Spanish speaking people in Madrid,Spain on the 29th of October,2012.However,i will need you to help me translate some documents from English to Spanish,so each of my audience can have a copy in their local language and they can follow through.The deadline for the delivery of translations is October 25,2012.Please,let me have an estimate for the documents(see attached).I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Kind Regards,
Steven
678-701-9193

I'm glad I checked the forum and found out it was a scam
Thanks to everyone for sharing this information and raising awareness amongst fellow translators.

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